Homework Responses Wk 6 & 2

This week’s forum discussion is all about training and equipment. In general, personal protection specialists and details exist to protect human capital. Organizations employ or contract security professionals solely for risk optimization and it is important to understand this before determining what training, skills, or equipment may be necessary to complete the mission. Without a solid understanding of the various risks and threats the client faces, it would be difficult to determine the operational needs of the detail. “Conducting security surveys with an integrated risk management approach, when done in a proactive way, can help provide more cost-effective and successful [protection] programs” (Kovacich & Halibozek, 2016). However, June lays out a few “universal” areas of necessary training in Introduction to Executive Protection which include threat assessment and risk analysis, emergency medicine, advance planning and defensive tactics, and etiquette (June, 2016). In my opinion, security details need individuals who are trained in these five core aspects of protection to be successful, regardless of the threat profile. And in-service training should reflect that. It is important to routinely train and evaluate teams and individuals to increase proficiency because training is primarily focused on “how and when to react” (p. 151).

 

There are also some essential skills that personal protection specialists should have to be effective. In high threat protection, we generally consider making holes and plugging holes to be the most essential, but the reality is that the greatest threat most clients face is ordinary and shared by everyone in the modern world: vehicle accidents. Driving is a critical foundational skill that all protection specialists should have. Traveling is a necessity in most industries, and it is generally understood that clients in high threat environments are at the greatest risk when moving from point A to B. And routine vehicle accidents are not the only issue. Because attacks on principle are largely functions of time and opportunity, the client is most vulnerable while underway. In general, this promotes driving at faster rates of speed to reduce time on the road, further highlighting the importance of having skilled and capable drivers on security details.

 

In addition to training and skill requirements, equipment is a major consideration in protective operations. The vehicle is a critical piece of equipment in protective operations (McGovern, 2011) and proper loadout is a big part of success during an incident. Typical loadouts generally include communications equipment, emergency medical supplies such as first aid kits and AEDs, and extradition equipment (APUS, 2020). Properly staging the vehicle and conducting familiarization training is equally important. For example, the Toyota LC200 has become the gold standard for protective operations worldwide and up-armored variants are used by nearly every single state, nongovernmental organization, and multinational organization in austere environments. They are reliable and stately, and their ubiquitous nature blends into many environments. And they are also heavy. This effects off and on road capability increasing stopping distances, decreasing operational lifespan, effecting handling and increasing the risk of rollovers. For these and other reasons, it is important for the detail to be familiar with the vehicle and how it responds to environmental conditions prior to moving clients.

 

References

APUS. (2020). W2: Equipment and Training. SCMT396. Retrieved from https://myclassroom.apus.edu/d2l/home/27059

June, D. L. (2016). Introduction to executive protection (3rd ed.). Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press. 

Kovacich, G. L., & Halibozek, E. (2016). Security Metrics Management: Measuring the effectiveness and efficiency of a security program. Elsevier.

McGovern, G. (2011). Protective Operations: A Handbook for Security and Law Enforcement. CRC Press.

People v. Bush (1974) 37 Cal. App. 3d 952 [112 Cal. Rptr. 770]